00:05Not your typical Sunday congregation. Hundreds of pets joined in with the
00:11hymns at Canterbury Cathedral as part of their annual animal blessing service, a
00:16tradition which has been going on for around a decade. It's just such a lovely
00:21way to experience the Cathedral in a really relaxed and family-friendly way.
00:26The service is always lovely and it's so nice to see all the animals there.
00:30I've bought them mostly for this old man here because he's nearly seven years old,
00:37which in guinea pig years is very very old and he's been a little bit sick recently.
00:43So I just thought might as well come here, get him a little blessing.
00:47We thought this was a unique opportunity to come inside with her and plus the fact she's named,
00:53you know her breed is named after a monastery, seem fitting to bring her inside a cathedral.
00:57After saying some prayers and singing a few hymns, the animals lined up two by two,
01:03ready to receive their blessing.
01:05We've seen creatures of all sizes getting blessed, some very big like Nelly here,
01:10others very small. We've even seen tortoises and chickens.
01:14So where Olive comes from, she comes from a farm and usually she would be slaughtered at 18 months old.
01:21So the importance of this today is just to show that rescue hens, they've still got a lot of life
01:26left in them
01:27and they all deserve happy, loving homes.
01:29The service was held on the anniversary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi,
01:34the Christian patron saint of animals.
01:36There are stories about him being able to relate in such great ways.
01:42People said he could speak to the birds.
01:45Now I can't speak to the birds but I know in reading those stories that Francis is telling us
01:51treat them seriously, don't exploit them, look after them because God made them too just as he made us.
01:58And for many it's this religious significance that drew them towards the service.
02:03They're a massive part of our lives and yeah, we love them.
02:07And to come and say thank you to God for everything they bring us is wonderful.
02:12And Liz and I are head teachers and executive head of her infant nursery school,
02:16which is a church school and Pixie comes into the school.
02:19So it's lovely to have her blessed and then to share that with the children.
02:23From guinea pigs to chickens, cats and dogs, the service brought together all creatures great and small.
02:30Sophie Denny for KMTV in Canterbury.
02:33Sophie Denny for KMTV in Canterbury.
02:33See you guys next week.
